Toothbrush and article holder



June 10, 1952 VEND|TT| 2,600,345

TOOTHBRUSH AND ARTICLE HoLiDER Filed Aug. 8, 1950 I N VE N TOR Weave/.149. Vuvmrr/ yjii mw/W ATTORNEY5 Patented June 10, 1952 UNITED STATES TOOT-I-IBRUSH AND ARTICLE HOLDER FrancisA. Venditti, Baltimore, Md.

Application August 8, 1950, Serial No. 178,294

2 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to a holder for toothbrushes and other articles, and has specific reference to an improved holder which suspends such articles by their heads in an enclosed casme.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a holder of the character described which has a casing with forwardly opening channel members which are firmly held in an open position when the article is removed fromthe holder and which are firmly held in a closed position when the article is placed within the holder.

Another object of this invention is to provide a holder of the character described having a slotted bottom so that a portion of the article to be held thereby depends from the bottom of the holder.

Another object of this invention is to provide means associated with a support for the article to be held, which open and close the channel members as the article is pulled outwardly or pushed inwardly of the holder.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a holder of the character described in which the channel members snap to an open or closed position to be retained in either position until force is applied to overcome the snapping action.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a holder of the character described in which the article is carried in the holder by a horizontally movable clamp attached to means associated with the channel members in such manner that the channel members may be opened or closed as the clamp is moved to a limited extent inwardly and outwardly of the holder by pushing and pulling an extensible portion of the article to be held.

A further object of this invention is to provide a holder of the character described which is economical and easy to manufacture in quantity and which is at the same time attractive and pleasing in appearance.

With these and other objects and advantages in view, which will become more apparentduring the course of the following description, the invention consists in the features and combinations hereinafter set forth.

In order to make the invention more fully understood, preferred embodiments thereof have been made the subject of illustration in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an article holder embodying the principles of this invention with the holder in open position and an article held therein;

Figure 2 is a horizontal cross section of the holder of Figure 1 taken along the line 2-2 thereof with the article removed; and

Figure 3 is a horizontal cross section of a modi- 2 v fied construction ofa holder embodying'theprinciples of this invention.

In its briefest form the present invention embodies a holder for. toothbrushes or other articles which has a casing for attachmentto a wall or other support. This casing has forwardly; opening channel members hinged thereto and contains a clamp for holding the article. A- slotted bottom is provided in the casing for allowing an extended member'of'the article, such as a handle, to protrude below the casing. Theclamp is attached to horizontally movable members having free ends secured to the channel members. By inserting the article inthe casing-and within the clampand movingthe article inwardly of the holder, the channel members-are closed. When the extended member of the article is moved forwardly of thecasingthe clamp and-the horizontally movable members arealso moved forwardly toopen the channel members. It is further contemplated that means be provided for maintaining the channel members open and closed position respectively.

Referring to the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 show a holder of the present invention generally designated as Hi. This holder comprises a casing H having a top member I2 andabottom member E3. The bottom I3 has a radialslot l4-:designed therein as shown. A bracket member I5 is secured to the rear of the casing- I l for-mount.- ing same on a wall or other support.-.

Channel members I6 and I! are: hingedly mounted at I8 and I9 respectivelyon the casing ll so that they may swing outwardly therefrom. Brackets 20 and-21' are-attached.to the inner surfaces of the channel members as shown. A spring member 22 having-opposed lateral sides 23-and 24 and an inner clamp 25 at the. closed end thereof is positioned for horizontalmovement within the holder. toothbrush 26 is shown in Figure. 1. being. inserted into the holder so that it may besuspended by its head within clamp 25. An extended member 21 which in the caseof atoothbrush. will be the handle thereof is shown passing through slot is in the bottom member l3--of the. holder.

The opposed free ends of the spring member 22' are hingedly mounted at 28.and-29 on the brackets 20 and 2| of the channel members 16 and I! respectively.

The holder of this invention is designed to house and carry an article such as a toothbrush so that the working portions thereof will be supported in a clean condition free from contact with other objects. In using the holder, assuming it to be open, i. e. with the channel members firmly held in open position, and the clamp or support member somewhat forward of the casing center, a toothbrush or other article having a working head and an elongated handle is An article such as. a

pushed into the clamp so that the throat of the article is grabbed thereby. By continuing to force the article as it is in vertical position inwardly of the casing, the clamp moves inwardly pulling the spring member inwardly also. As the spring moves inwardly its opposed sides converge, thus drawing the channel members inwardly with them and closing the casing. The spring will tend to carry the article inwardly of the casing and close the channel members by itself, due to the tension therein after the spring reaches the point of greatest compression. This point is reached somewhere midway between the opened and closed position of the holder when the ends of the brackets on the channel members pass closest to one another as they move in an arc during closing of the channel members. This spring tension snaps the holder closed and holds it closed.

When it is desired to open the holder and remove the article held thereby, one need merely grasp the handle extending below the casing and pull the article outwardly of the casing. This will draw the clamp member outward, which in turn will push the spring member forward to open the channel members and expose the article. After passing a certain point in their arouate movement forward the channel members will snap to the full open position. This point is where the spring is at its greatest compression, after which the spring starts to expand again as the brackets on the channel members swing in a wider arc. By simply twisting the article from the vertical in a quick motion, it will snap clear of the clamp and be freed from the holder for use.

It will be apparent, therefore, that when the channel members of this device are closed by the insertion of an article, they will stay firmly closed. There is no chance of the channel members falling ajar and thereby defeating the purpose of an enclosed sanitary holder. The same advantage of this snap action in closing the holder applies when the channel members are open. When the article is in use said members will stay open, always ready to receive the article without the user having to take the time and trouble of using anything but the article itself for closing the holder. In short, the holder of this invention snaps open and stays open and snaps shut and stays shut.

Figure 3 discloses a modified form of holder embodying some of the principles of the present invention. In this construction a clamp 30 is mounted on a backing plate 3| which is connected by bars 32 and 33 to channel members It and 11 respectively. These bars are hinged at 34 and 35 to the backing plate and at 36 and 31 to the channel members.

While the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it will be understood that various changes may be made, such as the size, shape and arrangement of parts or by the substitution of equivalents without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited only as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A holder for articles having a head and a handle comprising a casing, an opening defined by said casing for the admission of the head and part of the handle of the article, a slotted support forming the bottom portion of the holder, said slot extending towards the opening and adapted to engage the base of the head of the article for support purposes, a pair of doors hingedly mounted on said casing to close the opening after the article has entered the slot and hinged to open outwardly therefrom, resilient means hingedly connecting the pair of doors, and a clamping means formed by bending the connecting means inwardly intermediate its extremities, to receive the upper portion of the handle of the article, said clamping means registering with said slot, and said connecting means placing tension on the doors when the article is positioned in the clamping means and forced into the slot within the casing, thereby forcing the doors to close.

2. A holder for articles having a head and a handle comprising a casing, an opening defined by said casing for the admission of the head and part of the handle of the article, a slotted support forming the bottom portion of the holder, said slot extending towards the opening and adapted to engage the base of the head of the article for support purposes, a pair of doors hingedly mounted on said casing to close the opening after the article has entered the slot and hinged to open outwardly therefrom, a backing plate mounted on the bottom portion behind the slot, a pair of bars, each bar hingedly connecting an extremity of the backing plate and a door, a clamping means mounted on the backing plate intermediate the ends thereof and registering with the slot, said clamping means being adapted to receive the upper portion of the handle of the article, and said connecting bars placing tension on the doors when the article is positioned in the clamping means and forced into the slot within the casing, thereby forcing the doors to close.

FRANCIS A. VENDITTI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,289,025 Wever Dec. 24, 1918 1,566,889 Lundgren Dec. 22, 1935 2,309,116 Hylen Jan. 26, 1943 2,385,364 Larson Sept. 25, 1945 2,507,342 Licari et al. May 9, 1950 

